Ex-President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of National Guard troops in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, stating: "I will not back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives checking his power. What's next on the road toward complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, including homicides.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces preparing to mobilize, per reports. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would not perform police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Soldiers in combat attire with state guard insignia were observed at the military facility in the town. Trucks marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for safety concerns until 6 December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, sparking protests, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, state and city filed a lawsuit against the federal government, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "unlawful and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also signed an executive order on Monday banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has accused the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "rationalize and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law limits the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has stated he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a president to send active duty military in states that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
Since starting his second term, the president has dispatched or mentioned deploying military units to at least 10 cities, such as major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Data indicates that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were down 31% to 278 through late summer, per law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on that day revealed that most Americans disapprove of the sending of military forces without an external threat.
